Soccer By Ives

DeGuzman weighing "significant" offer from Toronto FC

 

                                                      Photo by ISIphotos.com

Toronto FC want Julian DeGuzman badly and is prepared to break the bank (of Montreal) to make it happen.

SBI correspondent and Canadian soccer expert Duane Rollins reported on his website, The 24th Minute, that TFC has made a seven-figure offer for the soon-to-be-former Deportivo La Coruna star. In an interview with the Canadian radio show It's Called Football, DeGuzman revealed that he is considering a large offer from Toronto, with Rollins reporting that the offer on the table would make him the second highest paid player in MLS.

Sources have told SBI that TFC has already begun shopping other players in order to make room under the cap in case DeGuzman does accept the offer, with Welsh midfielder Carl Robinson likely to be dealt to make way for the Canadian national team captain. The rapid rise of rookie midfielder Sam Cronin, and Amado Guevara's ability to play a deeper midfield role, would make Robinson expendable of DeGuzman were on board, and Robinson's salary slot would make squeezing a DeGuzman DP salary onto the salary cap that much easier.

What do you think of Toronto FC making such a strong push for DeGuzman? Think he could make TFC a title contender this season? Think Toronto would be crazy to spend so much money for a half-season of  DeGuzman's services?

Share your thoughts below.

Mid-Day Musings (More thoughts on USA-Spain, MLS All-Star Game and the Showdown in Chinatown)

                                                                              Photo by ISIphotos.com

Plenty to discuss in the world of soccer on the day after the Miracle in South Africa so let's get started:

Know how many fouls Michael Bradley, Jay DeMerit, Oguchi Onyewu and Ricardo Clark combined for against Spain? Try two. Bradley's lone foul was the one he was issued a red card for. One foul, one red card. Good job there Jorge Larrionda. Between that call and the two red cards he gave American players at the 2006 World Cup, you can't blame U.S. fans for hoping Larrionda isinvolved in a scandal at some point.

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New York Red Bulls at Toronto FC: Match Night Commentary

The New York Red Bulls are in Toronto (again) to take on Toronto FC and will be looking to finally put a halt to a winless streak that has turned the 2009 season into a complete nightmare.

TFC, riding high from its Canadian Championship victory last week, will look to make up some ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race with another win against the struggling Red Bulls.

I will be providing commentary throughout the match so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions below.

Enjoy the action.

MLS Ticker: Gerba signs with TFC, Petke suspension extended and more

Toronto FC has completed the signing of Canadian national team striker Ali Gerba, the club announced on Monday. Gerba joins TFC after parting ways with English club MK Dons.

Toronto acquired Gerba's rights in a deal with San Jose earlier this month that also brought veteran defender Nick Garcia to Toronto. Gerba is expected to challenge for a starting forward role in a crowded group that already includes Danny Dichio, Chad Barrett, Pablo Vitti and Fuad Ibrahim.

Gerba, 26, will be eligible to play for Toronto FC once the transfer window opens on July 15.

Petke suspended two more games

New York Red Bulls defender Mike Petke has had his red card suspension for an altercation with a match official following the Red Bulls loss to Toronto FC on June 13. He was also fined an additional $500.

Petke's suspension, coupled with Kevin Goldthwaite's suspension for yellow card accumulation, could mean the Red Bulls are forced to start Carlos Mendes and Andrew Boyens in central defense vs. Toronto FC on Wednesday night. Boyens is back from the Confederations Cup and traveling to Toronto.

CONCACAF releases Champions League schedule

D.C. United will host its first CONCACAF Champions League match of the year on July 28 (vs. Chalatenango of El Salvador) while the New York Red Bulls will host its first Champions League match on Aug. 5. (vs. W Connection of Trinidad & Tobago), a week after traveling for its first competitive international match on July 30.

As for Toronto FC fans? You can start booking your trip to Puerto Rico around Aug. 4th, when TFC travels to take on the USL Islanders.

Those matches were two of the ones whose dates and times were announced by CONCACAF on Tuesday. The full schedule for the two-leg preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League is now set, meaning you can begin making your travel plans.

Here is the full schedule:

Toronto FC wins Canadian Championship, clinches CCL berth, with shocking 6-1 win vs. Montreal

There will be five MLS teams competing in this year's CONCACAF Champions League after Toronto FC pulled off the improbable, beating Montreal, 6-1, on Thursday night in the final match of the NutriLite Canadian Championship to take the tournament and clinch its first Champions League berth.

Dwayne DeRosario netted a hat-trick while Amado Guevara scored a pair to help TFC overcome an early 1-0 deficit and erase the four-goal deficit it had on the Vancouver Whitecaps in the race for the title and the Champions League place that went along with it.

The Toronto FC victory and Canadian Championship triumph means the USL will have only one team in the CONCACAF Champions League after sending both the Montreal Impact and Puerto Rico Islanders to the quarterfinals in the 2008/2009 edition of the tournament. Toronto FC will face Puerto Rico in the play-in round, with a home-and-home series set for late July. If Toronto FC beats the Islanders it will compete in a group that includes the Columbus Crew and Deportivo Saprissa.

What do you think of Toronto's victory? Still in shock? Glad to see MLS re-establish its superiority over the USL? Looking forward to potential TFC-Columbus Champions League matches?

Share your thoughts below.

New York Red Bulls at Toronto FC: Your Running Commentary

The New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC are both in the midst of terrible skids and each will be hoping for the victory that can turn things around when they meet tonight at BMO Field (8pm, MSG+).

If the Red Bulls season is on life-support, then a loss tonight would essentially pull the plug on any faint playoff hopes the team might have. Meanwhile, Toronto FC is still trying to recover from a surprise home loss to Los Angeles last week that dropped TFC to three losses in its past four MLS matches.

The good news for the Red Bulls is that Mac Kandji, Jorge Rojas, and Alfred Pacheco are back in the starting lineup tonight (yes, Pacheco's return is questionably good news). The bad news is that Toronto FC has Amado Guevara back. Also, Danny Cepero is back in the starting lineup after Jon Conway's recent misadventures.

If you will be watching tonight's match please feel free to share your own thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the match (lineups are after the jump):

Canadian corner: Fan power alive and well north of the 49

 

 

By DUANE ROLLINS

It was a perfect storm of anger and frustration. Starting with a nasty 3-0 loss to Houston, shockingly continuing through a 2-0 loss in the Nutrilite Voyageurs’ Cup to USL-1 champion Vancouver and finally ending with a 2-1 spanking to the LA Galaxy, it was not the best week to be a Toronto FC fan. And many of the fans were quick to voice their displeasure with the team’s direction and form.

Seconds after the Voyageurs’ Cup loss I received a text message from one of the group’s leaders that simply read “Why do we put ourselves through this.”The feeling wasn’t isolated and quickly leaders from the three main groups started to discuss the possibility of holding some form of protest.

The youngest of the groups, The North End Elite, was the most vocal. It demanded a meeting with the TFC front office. Surprisingly the request was granted.  The other two main groups, the Red Patch Boys and U-Sector, were also invited. The meeting was scheduled for Friday, allowing for two days of hyperbole on the various discussion forums.

The meeting wasn’t pretty.

San Jose firesale continues: Garcia shipped to Toronto FC, which also lands rights to Gerba

The San Jose Earthquakes continued their roster reconstruction by sending veteran defender Nick Garcia and the discovery rights to Canadian national team striker Ali Gerba to Toronto FC for a third-round pick in the 2010 MLS Draft.

Why did the Earthquakes just trade the veteran leader of their defense? Well, they did it because he has been absolutely awful this year and has been to blame for countless goals allowed by San Jose's awful back-line. His salary, close to $200,000 for 2009 after signing a new contract before the season, was also a factor in his departure.

So why did Toronto FC just bring in Garcia considering the year he's having?

Guevara brace leads Toronto FC past Revs

Amado Guevara scored two goals to help Toronto FC post a 3-1 victory over New England at BMO Field on Saturday afternoon.

The Revs opened the scoring with a Shalrie Joseph header in the 13th minute, but Guevara responded with an equalizer a minute later. Dwayne DeRosario scored the game-winner in the 68th minute on one of Danny Dichio's two assists before Guevara settled matters with a 70th-minute strike.

What did you think of TFC's victory? Impressed with the Canadians? Finally start to believe that the Revs are in serious trouble?

Share your thoughts below.

A Minute With: Stefan Frei

 

                                         Photo by ISIphotos.com

Toronto FC rookie goalkeeper Stefan Frei has enjoyed a dream start to his professional career. While most goalkeepers spend years working their way into a starting role, Frei has taken over as TFC's No. 1 from the beginning and is enjoying a Rookie of the Year-type season.

Frei's first season has had its share of highlights, but the first and one of the best came in his very first game, Toronto's 4-2 win vs. Kansas City.

"I remember being on the phone with my brother after the game and him point out to me that I had just played against someone we grew up watching back in Switzerland," Frei said. "Claudio Lopez was someone we watched growing up in Switzerland when he played for Valencia and, here I was, playing against him. That was definitely a moment where I knew I was in the pros now.

Frei and Toronto FC take on New England on Saturday at BMO Field.

What do you think of Frei's season so far? Does he get your Rookie of the Year vote? Can you see him making a move to Europe sooner than later? Are you one of the fans who wishes your team had drafted him?

Share your thoughts below.

Mid-Day Musings (USA-Costa Rica TV info, MLS All-Star voting and more)

 

                                                                          Photo by ISIphotos.com

Good afternoon folks. We are making our way through another slow week in the soccer world and while we still have to wait two weeks for that dream United-Barcelona Champions League final, there are still plenty of other matters to discuss in both international and American soccer.

Here are some topics I wanted to touch on today:

Those wondering when and where the USA-Costa Rica World Cup qualifier would be shown, you should have your answer soon. Issues with the setting of a kickoff time for the match has kept ESPN from being able to settle on a channel to show the game on. What does seem certain is that the match will kickoff at either 8pm or 8:30pm on June 3rd.

Voting for the MLS All-Star Game starts today so we can prepare for the ballot stuffing to commence. Is there any way Seattle doesn't run away with the selections? Along with having one of the best teams early on, their home crowds dwarf almost all other MLS teams (save for Toronto). Look for a seperate post on this later this afternoon.

DeRo's Blast a Goal of the Week favorite

Good morning folks. As we get ready to kick off the new week with a fresh assortment of posts, I wanted to get the day started with the best goal of the weekend. It came courtesy of Toronto FC's Dwayne DeRosario, who looked to have a game-winner before a late penalty helped D.C. salvage a tie.

I'm sure Mike Magee's late equalizer will get its share of votes for Goal of the Week, but DeRosario's run and blast is, for my money, the best effort of Week 8.

Enjoy:

What did you think of DeRosario's goal? Was there a better goal? Which goal gets your vote for MLS Goal of the Week?

Share your thoughts below.

MLS Rewind: Stoppage time shootout in RSL-LA draw, KC ties DC and TFC downs Whitecaps

 

                                                      Photo by ISIphotos.com

Three stoppage time goals turned what looked to be a 1-0 Real Salt Lake victory into a 2-2 tie as the Los Angeles Galaxy scored both goals in extra time to stay unbeaten on the road.

Robbie Findley's header goal looked to be the winner for RSL before handball in the area gave Landon Donovan a game-tying penalty kick in the 91st minute. RSL found a go-ahead goal just a minute later after a clear penalty call on Bryan Jordan for bringing down Fabian Espindola. Will Johnson converted the PK to give RSL a 2-1 lead.

That would have been the game-winner if not for Mike Magee, who pounced on a deflected shot and slotted a tight-angled shot through the legs of Chris Seitz for a last-ditch equalizer. Here is Magee's equalizer:

Here are some other results from Wednesday night's action:

Mid-Day Musings (On the Galaxy, the Red Bulls, Wambach's tackle and Crew Stadium shenanigans)

It is Wednesday afternoon on an extremely slow news day in the soccer world (well, except for that big game in London in a few hours) and I'm trying to come up with topics as I await some interviews here at the New York Red Bulls practice facility.

This post is a bit more blog-ish than the standard SBI news fare, which may become a new trend as we move forward. I wanted to go over some topics to discuss as everyone counts down to Chelsea-Barcelona.

Here are some topics I wanted to touch on:

How good or bad is the Los Angeles Galaxy? I personally haven't been impressed when I've watched the Galaxy play, but you can't deny that LA has been IN every game its played this year, and LA is unbeaten on the road. Does that mean LA is a good team? I won't go that far yet, but the veteran-laden team is showing something. They probably deserve more credit than I've given them and they'll have a chance to prove that vs. Real Salt Lake and Seattle.

Toronto FC names Cummins interim head coach

As expected, Toronto FC has named Chris Cummins as the team's interim head coach.

Cummins has manned the sidelines for TFC's past two matches, both victories, and takes over for the rest of the year for John Carver, who resigned last week.

What do you think of the decision? Was it a no-brainer? Think TFC should have gone in another direction? Were you still hoping that Juergen Klinsmann would show up? Think TFC can be a serious contender this year?

Share your thoughts below.